India Post Payments Bank opens 2.68 crore accounts in 2024, 59 pc belong to women

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) opened 2.68 crore accounts in 2024 (till November), with 1.56 crore or 59 per cent being owned by women and 77 per cent accounts being opened in rural parts of the country, the government said on Friday.

While 1.04 crore customers availed mobile banking services, 69 lakh utilised VDC (virtual debit card) services and around 2,600 crore were disbursed through AePS (Aadhaar Enabled Payment System) in the January-November period.

About 3.62 crore IPPB customers received direct benefit transfer (DBT) benefits aggregating Rs 34,950 crore while 4.40 lakh digital life certificates were issued to pensioners in the January-November period, according to the Ministry of Communications. Nearly 58 per cent of total DBT beneficiaries are women, and the bank is proactively working towards women empowerment, aligning with the government’s directions.

Parcel monitoring application (PMA) revolutionised real-time delivery information sharing from 4.33 lakh articles in May 2019 to 5.35 crore articles in October 2024.

As of October, 400,00 KYC verifications were successfully completed.

According to the ministry, radio frequency identification (RFID) gates have been installed at 42 major mail exchange hubs to ensure real-time tracking across networks.

“The establishment of 233 nodal delivery centres has enhanced the speed and efficiency of parcel delivery, covering over 1600 PIN codes and handling 30 per cent of total parcels delivered across India,” it informed.

Aadhaar centres were extended to defence personnel including the highest centre at Siachen, with 110 operational centres in Army Postal Service locations.

More than 1,000 Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra (DNKs) have been opened to facilitate commercial export through postal channels across the country. The Department of Posts acceded to the Postal Payment Service Multilateral Agreement (PPSMA) for electronic postal payment service exchange between the signatory parties.

Meanwhile, 25,133 individuals were engaged in the first tranche of the Rozgar Mela on October 29.

The construction of 56 new postal buildings and renovation of 95 improved service delivery, according to the ministry.

(With inputs from IANS)